Life experiences, response styles and mental health among mothers and children in Beirut, Lebanon

Abstract

A sample of 152 women living in Beirut, Lebanon was studied to determine the relationship between life experiences, mothers' depression, and children's health and behavior. Measures of the perceived negative impact of both war and nonwar related events, measures of available social support, sociodemographic variables, coping or response strategies and displacement were used to predict mothers' depressive symptomatology and their children's health. The level of perceived negative impact of war-related events was found to be strongly associated with higher levels of depressive symptomatology among mothers. More surprising was the relative importance of experiences unrelated to the war in predicting higher levels of depressive symptoms. Among the most noteworthy of the findings was the association between the use of an emotional response style and the measure of psychological dysfunction. Finally, the level of a mother's depressive symptomatology was found to be the best predictor of her child's reported morbidity, with higher levels of symptoms associated with higher levels of morbidity.

Predictors of Depressive Symptoms Among Israeli Jews and Arabs During the Al Aqsa Intifada: A Population-Based Cohort Study

“…In particular, economic loss as a result of terrorism was associated with greater severity of depressive symptoms in adjusted models. The relation between financial hardship and depression has been well-documented in the literature (48)(49)(50)(51), and other studies of war and disasters have suggested a relation between financial loss and depression (27,40,52). Greater loss of psychosocial resources was also a significant predictor of depressive symptoms in this study, as has been documented in other settings (53).…”

Exposure to community violence and African American children: A multidimensional model of risks and resources

“…It has been further suggested that parents who utilize effective coping under stress model positive behavior for their children who in turn incorporate these strategies into their coping repertoire (Atlas & Rickel, 1988). This relationship between maternal coping and children's ability to cope with extreme stressors is further evidenced under conditions of war-related violence (Bryce, Walker, Ghorayeb, & Kanji, 1989;Punamaki & Suleiman, 1990). Pearlin and Schooler (1978) earlier contended that the larger one's repertoire of coping responses and the greater one's ability to distinguish between the challenges that exist, the more successful the individual's capacity to cope with stressors.…”

War Exposure and Maternal Reactions in the Psychological Adjustment of Children from Bosnia‐Hercegovina

“…Far less studied has been the influence of maternal reactions on child distress. Bryce, Walker, Ghorayeb, and 396 P. SMITH et al Kanj (1989) found that among 5-to 7-year-old Lebanese children who lived through the war in Beirut, the most important predictor of reports of child morbidity was mothers' level of depressive symptomatology. In a similar vein, in their work with families from the Crossroads squatter camp in South Africa, Dawes, Tredoux, and Feinstein (1989) found that children with multiple symptom presentation were more likely to have mothers who were suffering from PTSD, implying that mothers' mental health is a significant mediator of their children's mental health in times of conflict.…”